Systems and methods for automatically measuring a video game difficulty

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the systems and methods described herein can automatically measure the difficulty metrics associated with various aspects of a video game using an artificial intelligence system. The artificial intelligence system may include multiple game agents. Telemetry data associated with the gameplay of each game agent may be recorded while the game application is automatically executed by the game agents. The telemetry data may be communicated to a data analysis system which can calculate game difficulty metrics for various aspects of the game. The data analysis system can determine game difficulty associated with the various aspects based on the game difficulty metrics. The results from the data analysis system may be visualized and communicated to a game developer for updating the operations of the video game.

BACKGROUND

Software game developers typically desire for their video game to engageusers for as long as possible. The longer a user is engaged with thesoftware, the more likely that the video game will be successful. Thelonger a user plays a particular video game, the more likely that theuser enjoys the video game, and thus, the more likely the user willcontinue to play the video game. Often, video games that are toodifficult or too easy will result in less enjoyment for a user.Consequently, the user is likely to play the video game less. Thus, oneof the challenges of game development is to accurately measuredifficulties of various aspects of a video game and design the videogame with a difficulty level that is most likely to keep a user engagedfor a longer period of time.

SUMMARY OF EMBODIMENTS

The systems, methods, and devices of this disclosure each have severalinnovative aspects, no single one of which is solely responsible for theall of the desirable attributes disclosed herein.

One embodiment discloses a system for automatically measuring at leastone game difficulty metric within a virtual game application, the systemcomprising: an artificial intelligence system configured to simulategameplay sessions of a game application using a plurality of gameagents, wherein each game agent of the plurality of game agents isconfigured to: during runtime of a gameplay session of the gameapplication, identify a current gameplay state in a virtual gameenvironment of the game application; identify one or more availableactions associated with the current gameplay state; select an action ofthe one more available actions based at least in part on definedoperational characteristics of the game agent; and execute the selectedaction within the virtual game environment; a telemetry data acquisitionsystem configured to: record telemetry data associated with theplurality of game agents while the plurality of game agents is executingwithin the game application, the telemetry data comprising gameplaystate information describing actions performed by the game agents atgameplay states during the gameplay sessions; and communicate thetelemetry data to a data store; a data analysis system configured to:access the telemetry data associated with the plurality of game agents;calculate at least one game difficulty metric associated with eachgameplay session based at least in part on the telemetry data; andgenerate a result for a game difficulty determination based on the gamedifficulty metric, wherein the result comprises a game difficultydetermination for at least a defined segment of the game application;and a reporting system configured to: access the result for the gamedifficulty determination; generate a report based on the result for thegame difficulty determination; and communicate the report to a computingsystem for display.

Another embodiment discloses a method for automatically measuring a gamedifficulty metric within a game application, the method comprising:recording telemetry data associated with an artificial intelligencesystem configured to simulate gameplay sessions of a game applicationusing a plurality of game agents, wherein each game agent of theplurality of game agents is configured to: during runtime of a gameplaysession of the game application, identify a current gameplay state in avirtual game environment of the game application; identify one or moreavailable actions associated with the current gameplay state; select anaction of the one more available actions based at least in part ondefined operational characteristics of the game agent; and execute theselected action within the virtual game environment; accessing thetelemetry data associated with a plurality of game agents, wherein thetelemetry data comprises gameplay state information describing actionsperformed by the game agents at gameplay states during the gameplaysessions; calculating at least one game difficulty metric associatedwith each gameplay session based at least in part on the telemetry data;and generating a result for a game difficulty determination based on thegame difficulty metric, wherein the result comprises a game difficultydetermination for at least a defined segment of the game application;generating a report based on the result for the game difficultydetermination; and communicating the report to a computing system fordisplay.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereoninstructions that, when executed, direct a computing system to implementa game metric analysis system, the game metric analysis systemconfigured to: record telemetry data associated with an artificialintelligence system configured to simulate gameplay sessions of a gameapplication using a plurality of game agents, wherein each game agent ofthe plurality of game agents is configured to: during runtime of agameplay session of the game application, identify a current gameplaystate in a virtual game environment of the game application; identifyone or more available actions associated with the current gameplaystate; select an action of the one more available actions based at leastin part on defined operational characteristics of the game agent; andexecute the selected action within the virtual game environment; accessthe telemetry data associated with the plurality of game agents, whereinthe telemetry data comprising gameplay state information describingactions performed by the game agents at gameplay states during thegameplay sessions; calculate at least one game difficulty metricassociated with each gameplay session based at least in part on thetelemetry data; and generate a result for a game difficultydetermination based on the game difficulty metric, wherein the resultcomprises a game difficulty determination for at least a defined segmentof the game application; generate a report based on the result for thegame difficulty determination; and communicate the report to a computingsystem for display.

Although certain embodiments and examples are disclosed herein,inventive subject matter extends beyond the examples in the specificallydisclosed embodiments to other alternative embodiments and/or uses, andto modifications and equivalents thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Throughout the drawings, reference numbers are re-used to indicatecorrespondence between referenced elements. The drawings are provided toillustrate embodiments of the subject matter described herein and not tolimit the scope thereof.

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a computing environment forautomatically measuring difficulty metrics in a video game.

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of a process for automaticallymeasuring difficulty metrics in a video game.

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of state transitions in a video game.

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of a flowchart for automaticallymeasuring a difficulty metrics in a video game.

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate embodiments of user interfaces for a datavisualization system.

FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment of a computing environment forinterfacing a game agent system with a video game application.

FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of a process for interacting with avideo game application using a game agent system.

FIG. 8 illustrates an embodiment of a computing device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

I. Overview

Inconsistent difficulties among various aspects of a video game maycause a game player to lose interest. As an example, the difficulty of alevel of the video game may be out of line with the rest of the levels.When a level is too difficult compared to the rest of the levels, a vastmajority of game players may fail to complete the level and maytherefore lose interest in the whole video game. In order to adjustdifficulties in the video game, the game developers may need toaccurately measure difficulty metrics of various aspects of the videogame before the video game is released. The game developers may setaside a beta period for people to test the video game. However, the betaperiod may be only for a small group of people and therefore the videogame difficulty data acquired may be inaccurate due to the small samplesize. For example, the beta period may involve people who are very goodat the video game compared to the rest of the population. Therefore, theresulting difficulty adjustment to the video game may still be toodifficult for the rest of the game players. In addition, obtainingdifficulty metric data from actual players after the video game isreleased may cause player frustration and endanger the gameplay. Forexample, game players might drop out before an adjustment of video gamedifficulty can be employed.

The techniques described herein can provide a more accurate measurementof the game difficulty metrics. In some embodiments, a fleet of gameagents may automatically execute within a game application byinterfacing with the video game application's application programminginterface (API) or by automating an interaction with the video gameapplication (such as automating an input from a keyboard, a mouse, agame controller, or user touch screen interactions). The fleet of gameagents may be run in a batch mode or one at a time. To save computingresources and improve the execution speed, the video game applicationmay be configured not to render graphics while the game agents areexecuting the video game application or other processes/interactivefeatures which do not affect gameplay. In some implementations, thevideo game application may be run in a speed-up mode while the fleet ofgame agents are executing.

The telemetry data associated with the gameplay of each game agent maybe recorded. Advantageously, the telemetry data may include intermediaryinformation such as state transition information. The telemetry data maybe communicated to a data analysis system which can calculate gamedifficulty metrics for various aspects of the video game, such as, forexample, different levels (or stages), chances of a certain item orin-game character appearing, chances of a certain in-game action, and soforth. The data analysis system can determine game difficulty associatedwith the various aspects based on the game difficulty metrics. Theresults from the data analysis system may be visualized in a report andbe communicated to a game developer for updating the operations of thevideo game application to adjust the video game's difficulty level.

II. Examples of Automatically Measuring Game Difficulty Metrics

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a computing environment 100 forautomatically measuring a video game's difficulty metrics. The computingenvironment 100 includes a network 180, a computing system 102, a gamedevelopment computing system 150, and an interactive computing system120. To simplify discussion and not to limit the present disclosure,FIG. 1 illustrates only one computing system 102, one game developmentcomputing system 150, and one interactive computing system 120, thoughmultiple systems may be used.

The interactive computing system 120 can include application hostsystems 122, one or more data stores 124, and a game metric analysissystem 130. The game metric analysis system 130 can communicate withdata store 124 and/or with the application host systems 122 to acquiredata associated with a video game application 104. The game metricanalysis system 130 can communicate with computing system 102, and gamedevelopment computing system 150 via the network 180. Although only onenetwork 180 is illustrated, multiple distinct and/or distributednetworks 180 may exist. The network 180 may include a local network. Forexample, the computing system 102, the interactive computing system 120,and the game development computing system 150 may all be associated witha backend game development system.

One or more of the systems described herein may be associated with theanalysis of a video game application 104. For example, the computingsystem 102 can be configured to execute the video game application 104,simulate the gameplay with the game agent, and/or acquire data (such as,for example, telemetry data) of the video game application 104. The gamedevelopment computing system 150 can be configured to show analyses ofthe video game application 104. The game metric analysis system 130 mayprocess the data acquired by the computing system 102 and communicatethe results of the data analyses to the game development computingsystem 150.

A game developer may use the computing system 102 to acquire data of thevideo game application 104, use the game metric analysis system 130 toanalyze the game difficulty metrics, and use the game developmentcomputing system 150 to adjust video game's operations based on theanalysis from the game metric analysis system 130. For example, in someembodiments, a game agent can simulate the gameplay of the video gameapplication 104 on the computing system 102. The telemetry dataacquisition system 134 of the computing system 102 can capture dataassociated with a gameplay session of the video game application 104.The computing system 102 can communicate the captured data to the gamemetric analysis system 130. The game metric analysis system 130 cancompile data generated by multiple gameplay sessions and/or by multiplegame agents and analyze the game difficulty metrics based on thecompiled data. The game metric analysis system 130 can generate a reportof game difficulty metrics for various aspects in the video game (suchas at different levels in the video game) and communicate the report tothe game development computing system 150. The game developmentcomputing system 150 or a game developer using the game developmentcomputing system 150 can update the operations of the video game basedon the report.

Though illustrated as separate systems, the game metric analysis system130 can be part of the computing system 102. In some embodiments, thegame development computing system 150, the computing system 102, and thegame metric analysis system 130 can all be part of the same system. Forexample, the combined system may reside on one or more hardware systemsconfigured for backend game development and testing.

A. Computing System

The computing system 102 can include a video game application 104, agame agent system 108 configured for simulating a gameplay with aplurality of game agents, a host application system 106 for hosting atleast a portion of the video game application 104, a telemetry dataacquisition system 134 for acquiring telemetry data of the video gameapplication 104, and a data store 126 configured to store informationassociated with the video game application 104, such as game assets,telemetry data, as well as instructions for executing the video gameapplication 104 and for acquiring data of the video game application104.

The computing system 102 may be implemented on the computing device 10(shown in FIG. 8). The computing system 102 may include hardware andsoftware components for establishing communications over a communicationnetwork 180. For example, the computing system 102 may be equipped withnetworking equipment and network software applications that facilitatescommunications via one or more networks (for example, the Internet or anintranet). The computing system 102 may have varied local computingresources such as central processing units and architectures, memory,mass storage, graphics processing units, communication networkavailability and bandwidth, and so forth. Further, the computing system102 may include any type of computing system, such as, for example,desktops, laptops, game application platforms, television set-top boxes,televisions (for example, Internet TVs), network-enabled kiosks,car-console devices, computerized appliances, wearable devices (forexample, smart watches and glasses with computing functionality), andwireless mobile devices (for example, smart phones, PDAs, tablets, orthe like), to name a few. In some embodiments, the computing system 102may include one or more of the embodiments described below with respectto FIG. 8.

1. Video Game Application and Host Application System

Typically, the computing system 102 is capable of executing a video gameapplication 104 which may be stored or executed in a distributedenvironment. For example, the video game application may be executed bya virtual machine, or a virtual server instance executing the gameapplication in the virtual environment. In certain implementations, thecomputing system 102 may execute a portion of a video game and theinteractive computing system 120, or an application host system 122 ofthe interactive computing system 120 may execute another portion of thevideo game. For instance, the video game application 104 may be amassively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) that includes aclient portion executed by the computing system 102 and a server portionexecuted by one or more application host systems 122. In someembodiments, the video game application 104 can include a distributedapplication or an application that includes a portion that executes onthe computing system 102 and a portion that executes on at least one ofthe application host systems 122.

The computing system 102 may execute a host application system 106. Thehost application system 106 can act as an interface or hub for one ormore video game applications 104 that interfaces with the applicationhost system 122. The host application system 106 can be loaded intomemory on the player computing system 102.

2. Game Agent System

The game agent system 108 may be an artificial intelligence (AI) system.The game agent system 108 can include one or more game agents. A gameagent can have certain characteristics. A game agent can automaticallymake decisions at various states of the video game application 104. Thegame agent system 108 may have various types of agents with each type ofagent being associated with defined characteristics. For example, a gameagent system 108 may include a random agent, a static agent, a learningagent, a combination thereof, and/or other types of agents. A randomagent can take a random action at each state in the video game. A staticagent can be designed to implement a static predefined AI. For example,the static agent can follow a predefined path within a video gameapplication, implement predetermined actions, and/or respond to gamestates based on a predetermined set of operational rules. In oneexample, the static agent may be designed to move around a map in acertain way in a first person exploration video game. As anotherexample, the static agent may be designed to follow a certain series ofmoves in a turn-based game. A learning agent can be configured todynamically change the rule set governing the operation of the agentover time. For example, the learning agent can learn levels and maps asit plays the video game application 104. The learning agent may not havea predefined path. It can adjust its actions based on acquiredinformation, such as previously failed attempts or previous levels inthe video game. For example, a learning agent may have an explorationphase. During which the learning agent can see which moves areavailable. A learning agent can consider objectives or rewards collectedor available at certain states in the video game application 104 andmake a decision based on the objectives or rewards.

In some embodiments, the game agent's characteristics may include alevel (also referred to as AI level). For example, the AI level mayinclude qualitative grades such as low, medium, or high or quantitativegrades, such as for example, in a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being thehardest (or easiest). The AI level may correspond to the intelligencelevel of the game agent. For example, a high AI level may indicate thatthe game agent is “smarter” and therefore, can pass more game level orpass a game level in a shorter period of time. On the other hand, a lowAI level may indicate that the game agent is “dumber” and therefore, canpass fewer game levels or take longer to pass a game level. As anotherexample, a learning agent with a high AI level can learn a level morequickly while a learning agent with a low AI level may learn a levelslowly. The game agent system 108 can be used to play the video gameapplication 104. The game agent system 108 can execute within the videogame application 104 by interfacing with the API of the video gameapplication 104. For example, a game agent of the game agent system 108can perform an action in the video game by calling the API associatedwith the action. Additionally or alternatively, the game agent system108 can interact with the video game application 104 by simulating anaction of a peripheral device. For example, the game agent system 108(and/or the game agents of the game agent system 108) can simulate amouse click, a mouse movement, a keyboard stroke, or other movements ofa game controller. The graphics of the video game application 104 maynot rendered when the game agent system 108 interacts with the videogame application 104 via the API. When the game agent system 108executes within the video game application 104 by simulating an actionof a peripheral device, the video game application 104 may be configuredto render graphics. For example, a game agent may be configured to onlyclick on a certain spot of the screen.

The characteristics of the agents may also include personas where agentsmay be trained to mimic the choices of a person at a particular state.The agents can have different personas. For example, one agent can usegame currency to rush through the game while another tries to win withno currency spent. The agent personas may be trained using logscollected from gameplays of quality assurance (“QA”) personnel. The QAlogs may be used to generate a set of seed data for training the agent,where the QA logs may be analyzed to identify a probability of making acertain choice given a particular game state. The computing system 102can compile the probabilities of the game states to generate a persona.For example, a persona may be rich because the QA logs indicate that aperson spends a lot of game currency to pass levels. The persona mayalso be stingy because the person recorded in the QA logs tries to winwith no currency spent. The game agent system 108 may select a personafor the game agent at each run of the gameplay. The game agent system108 can select a persona randomly or based on a certain probability.Agent personas can control the choices made by agent in each game state.For example, if the rich persona is selected for a game agent, the gameagent may have a high probability of spending game currency at a gamestate.

At each state within the video game application, a game agent in thegame agent system 108 can make an action based on its operationalcharacteristics. The action may be a random action chosen from a pool ofavailable actions at that state, a predefined option, or an informedaction based on the available information (such as, for example, datareceived in the current and/or previous gameplay sessions).

Multiple game agent systems may be used to simulate a gameplay. Forexample, in a video game for football, each game agent may play a team.As another example, in a single player turn-based game, a game agent maysimulate the gameplay as if it is a human. Each game agent system 108may include game agents with similar types or characteristics. Forexample, one game agent system 108 may include learning agents whileanother game agent system 108 may include random agents. A game agentsystem 108 may also include game agents with mixed types orcharacteristics. For example, the game agent system 108 may includestatic agents for farming and learning agents for attacking ordefending. The game agent systems 108 or game agents in a game agentsystem 108 may be located in one or more computing systems 102. Forexample, the game agent system 108 having learning agents may beexecuted by a different computing device than the game agent systemhaving random agents.

As further described with reference to the telemetry data acquisitionsystem 134, as a game agent system 108 plays the video game application104, the game agent's actions as well as the results of the actions canbe recorded by the telemetry data acquisition system 134. Although inthis example, only one game agent system 108 is shown, the computingsystem 102 can simulate a gameplay session by running multiple gameagents systems 108 in series or in parallel by running multipleinstances of the video game or multiple agents within a video game.

3. Telemetry Data Acquisition System

Telemetry data acquisition system 134 can be configured to acquiretelemetry data during a gameplay session. Telemetry data of a video gameapplication can be used to recreate a game state and to analyze issuesduring game development. Telemetry data may include results of an actionsuch as, for example, the ending state of the game agent, the startingstate of the game agent, the number of lives, rewards collected at theend of the video game, and so on. The telemetry data may also includeintermediary data such as step-by-step state transition information. Thestate transition information can include state representations, such as,for example, the objects (such as the type and the number of boosters)available, or the game agent's location, speed, or other attributes. Thestate transition information can also include moves available at a givenstate.

As an example, in a turn-based game, the step-by-step state transitioninformation may include serializations at various turns. At thebeginning of the game, the gameplay area may include a blue gem on thetop left, a red gem next to the blue gem, and a green gem in the middleof the gameplay area. Then, the game agent system 108 can make a movecausing new gems to be created and fill up the gameplay area. As anotherexample, in a video game for football, the state transition informationmay include locations of the game agents (such locations with respect tothe ball), the speed of the game agents, the attributes of the gameagents, and so on, at various states of the video game. Additionalexamples of state transition information are described with reference toFIG. 3.

Telemetry data can be stored in a variety of database formats. Thetelemetry data can be transformed into statistics for analyzing thevideo game application, such as analyzing difficulty metrics of variouslevels or game states. The telemetry data may be transformed ororganized to show various metrics or statistics associated with a videogame application, such as, for example, average completion time as afunction of individual game level, the game progression speed, scoresand rewards, how fast a leaning agent can learn a level, and so on.These statistics can sometimes be referred to as game metrics or gamedifficulty metrics.

The telemetry data acquisition system 134 may be implemented as aplug-in of the video game application 104 or the host application system106 or as a standalone program. In some embodiments, the telemetry dataacquisition system 134 may be part of the game agent system 108 foracquiring telemetry data associated with the game agent system 108.

As further described with reference to game metric analysis system 130,a portion of the telemetry data acquisition system 134 can reside withthe game metric analysis system 130 while another portion can reside onthe computing system 102. For example, a portion of the video gameapplication 104 may be executed at the computing system 104 whileanother portion may be executed by the application host systems 122 atthe interactive computing system. The telemetry data acquisition system134 on the computing system 102 can acquire the telemetry data of theportion of the video game application as being executed on the computingsystem 102. In the meantime, the telemetry data acquisition system 134on the interactive computing system 120 can acquire the telemetry dataof the other portion of the video game application as being executed bythe application host systems 122.

As another example, the telemetry data acquisition system 134 of thecomputing system 102 can acquire telemetry data associated with the gameagent system 108 and communicate the telemetry data to the telemetrydata acquisition system 134 of the game metric analysis system 130. Insome embodiments, the telemetry data may be communicated together withinformation of the game agents, such as the type or the characteristicsof game agents. The telemetry data acquisition system 134 can compiledata acquired from multiple computing systems, during multiple gameplaysessions, as well as data associated with multiple game agents. Thetelemetry data acquisition system 134 can communicate the compiled datato the data analysis system 136 for computation of the game difficultymetrics. Although in this example, the game metric analysis system 130is illustrated as a separate system from the computing system 102, thegame metric analysis system 130 can also be part of the computing system102. In such situations, the telemetry data acquisition system 134 mayreside in one of the computing system 102 or the interactive computingsystem 120.

4. Data Store

The data store 126 can be configured to store information associatedwith the game agents of the game agent system 108, such as the type ofthe game agents or the characteristics of the game agents. The datastore 126 can also store the telemetry data acquired by the telemetrydata acquisition system 134 over one or more gameplay sessions. The datastore 126 can further store instructions associated with the hostapplication system 106 and video game application 104. For example, thedata store 126 can store game assets (such as the virtual worlds) andgame logics of the video game application 104.

In some embodiments, the data store 126 may be combined with data store124. For example, when the game metric analysis system 130 is part ofthe computing system 102, various systems of the computing system 102and interactive computing system 120 may be configured to communicatewith the combined data store.

B. Interactive Computing System

In the computing environment 100, the interactive computing system 120can include application host systems 122, a data store 124, and a gamemetric analysis system 130. These systems may be configured tocommunicate with each other. For example, the game metric analysissystem 130 can obtain data associated with a video game application 104from the application host systems 122 and can store such data in thedata store 124. The application host systems 122 can communicate withthe data store 124 to execute and/or host a video game application.

1. Application Host Systems

Application host systems 122 can be configured to execute a portion ofthe video game application 104 and/or host application 106. In certainembodiments, instead of or in addition to executing a portion of thevideo game application 104 and/or host application 106, the applicationhost systems 122 may execute another application, which may complementand/or interact with the video game application 104 during execution ofan instance of the video game application 104.

For example, the interactive computing system 120 may enable multiplegame agents or computing systems to access a portion of the video gameapplication 104 and/or host application 106 executed or hosted by theinteractive computing system 120. In some embodiments, the portion ofthe video game application 104 executed by application host systems 122of the interactive computing system 120 may create a persistent virtualworld. This persistent virtual world may enable one or more game agentsto interact with the virtual world and with each other in a synchronousand/or asynchronous manner. In some cases, multiple instances of thepersistent virtual world may be created or hosted by the interactivecomputing system 120. A set of game agents may be assigned to or mayaccess one instance of the persistent virtual world while another set ofgame agents may be assigned to or may access another instance of thepersistent virtual world. In some embodiments, the application hostsystems 122 may execute a hosting system for executing various aspectsof a game environment. For example, in one embodiment, the video gameapplication 104 may be a competitive game, such as a first personshooter or sports game, and the host application system 122 can providea dedicated hosting service for hosting multiplayer game instances orfacilitate the creation of game instances hosted by computing devices.In some embodiments, the application host systems 122 can provide alobby or other environment for players (or game agents) to virtuallyinteract with one another. Such environments may include environmentsfor conducting transactions between players, such as an auction house ortype of environment for facilitating transactions.

2. Data Store

The interactive computing system 120 can include a data store 124. Thedata store 124 can be configured to store data acquired by othersystems, such as, for example, telemetry data, video game application104, or information about the game agents of the game agent system 108.The data store may be distributed across multiple computing devices (seefor example computing device 10 in FIG. 8). For example, the data store126 of the computing system 102 may be part of the data store 124 of theinteractive computing system 120. In some embodiments, the data store124 may be network-based storage system where data may be stored indifferent locations.

3. Game Metric Analysis System

As described with respect to other systems in FIG. 1, the game metricanalysis system 130 can communicate with other systems to acquire dataassociated with a game application and to analyze the data. The gamemetric analysis system 130 can include one or more systems for dataacquisition and analysis. For example, the game metric analysis system130 can include a telemetry data acquisition system 134, a data analysissystem 136, and a data reporting system 138 (which can include a datavisualization system 132). These example systems are not intended to belimiting. The game metric analysis system 130 may include fewer or moresystems than described.

The game metric analysis system 130 and its various systems may bedistributed across multiple computing systems. The various systems ofthe game metric analysis system 130 can communicate with each other toobtain and analyze data associated with a game application. For example,the telemetry data acquisition system 134 can acquire telemetry datawhen a game agent of the game agent system 108 is playing the video gameapplication 104. The telemetry data acquisition system 134 cancommunicate the acquired telemetry data to the data analysis system 136for analysis of the game difficulty metrics. The data analysis system136 can communicate the results of the analysis to the reporting system138 which may visualize the result of the analysis via the datavisualization system 132 and/or generate a report for the analysis. Eachsystem of the game metric analysis system 130 will be described in moredetail below.

i. Telemetry Data Acquisition System

As described with reference to the computing system 102, the telemetrydata acquisition system 134 can record telemetry data, which may includegame state transition information when a game agent of the game agentsystem 108 is playing the video game application 104. A portion of thetelemetry data acquisition system 134 may be executed by the computingsystem 102, while another portion of the telemetry data acquisitionsystem 134 may be executed by the interactive computing system 120. Thetelemetry data acquisition system 134 of the game metric analysis system130 may communicate with the telemetry data acquisition system 138 ofthe computing system 102 to acquire telemetry data. For example, theremay be multiple game agents each executing in its own instance of thegame application. The telemetry data acquisition system 134 on eachcomputing system can acquire telemetry data associated with therespective agent, and the telemetry data acquisition system 134 of theinteractive computing system 120 can combine the telemetry data acquiredfrom multiple agents operating on multiple computing systems.

In some embodiments, the telemetry data acquisition system 134 may beimplemented entirely by the interactive computing system 130. Forexample, in situations where the computing system 102 is implemented aspart of the interactive computing system 120, the interactive computingsystem 120 can simulate the gameplay using a game agent. In otherembodiments, the telemetry data acquisition system 134 may be entirelyimplemented by the computing system 102 or implemented by both.

The telemetry data acquired by the telemetry data acquisition system 134may be stored in the data store 124/126. The telemetry data may also becommunicated to the data analysis system 136 for analysis.

ii. Data Analysis System

The data analysis system 136 can calculate game metrics based on thetelemetry data acquired by the game agents and determine difficultymetrics of various game levels based on the calculated game metrics forthe respective game levels. The data analysis system 136 can obtain thetelemetry data from the telemetry data acquisition system 134 and/orfrom the data store 124. The data analysis system 136 can use telemetrydata to calculate various game metrics and use the game metricsassociated with a group of game agents to measure the difficulty metricsof a game level. The telemetry data may include data from game agentswith different types and characteristics. The data analysis system 136can evaluate game difficulty metrics by dividing game agents intodifferent groups with each group associated with one or more types orcharacteristics. For example, the data analysis system 136 can compute agame metric based on telemetry data obtained from a group of game agentswhose AI level is high. As another example, data analysis system 136 cancompute a game metric based on telemetry data associated with a group oflearning agents. Statistics associated with a game metric may becompared with a threshold condition or one or more rules for determininga game difficulty. For example, the threshold condition may be apercentage such as the percentage of game agents who failed the level.The threshold condition may also be other quantitative or qualitativemeasures. For example, the threshold condition may be the time it takesfor a learning agent to learn the level or the average number ofattempts for a group of game agents.

The difficulty metrics of a game level may be measured by the absoluteperformance of a game agent. For example, in some rules a game level maybe indicated as difficult when a game agent having a high AI levelcannot pass the game level. On the other hand, in other rules, a gamelevel may be indicated as easy when a game agent having a low AI levelcan pass it.

The difficulty metric of a game level may also be determined using rulesbased on the relative performance across multiple agents. For example,data analysis system 136 can measure the win ratio. If 90% of the gameagents pass a certain game level, the data analysis system 136 mayinclude a rule that concludes that this level is easy. On the otherhand, if only 5% of the agents pass this game level, the data analysissystem 136 may a rule that concludes that the level is hard.

The data analysis system 136 can also look at the scores or rewardsobtained by a game agent at the end of a level. For example, the dataanalysis system 136 may include rules that assign multiple thresholdscores or rewards which correspond to different game difficulty levels.For example, if the average score of the game agents is below a certainthreshold, the data analysis system 136 may determine that the gamelevel is difficult. As another example, if the percentage of game agentscollecting a certain type (or number) of rewards exceeds a threshold,the data analysis system 136 may determine that the game level is easy.

Additionally or alternatively, the data analysis system 136 can evaluatethe progression speed, such as how long it takes for an agent toprogress to the next level. For example, a game level may be moredifficult if it takes a game agent a longer period of time to complete.On the other hand, a game level may be easier if it takes a game agent arelatively short period of time to finish.

Where learning agents are used, the data analysis system 136 can alsocalculate how fast a learning agent can learn a level. For example, ifthe learning agents can learn and pass a level within a threshold amountof time associated with a medium level of difficulty, the data analysissystem 136 may apply a rule to determine that the level is of mediumdifficulty. The data analysis system 136 can group the learning agentsinto different groups based on the agent's characteristics. For example,if the data analysis system 136 can analyze how fast a group of learningagent with high AI level can pass a level and how fast a group oflearning agent with low AI level can pass the level. The data analysissystem 136 can use calculations for either or both groups and applyrules to determine the game difficulty levels.

As another example, the data analysis system 136 can calculate anaverage period of time for a group of learning agents to reach athreshold intelligence level. For example, the threshold intelligencelevel may be reached if the game agent knows how to fulfill an objectivein a video game (such as defeating a monster). The data analysis system136 can also measure the average attempts a group of agents tries beforewinning the level.

In addition to or in alternative to measuring difficulty metrics of agame level, similar techniques may also be used to measure thedifficulty metrics of the overall video game application 104 or tomeasure the difficulty metrics of a certain state in the video game. Forexample, the data analysis system 136 can use the techniques describedherein to measure the difficulty metrics related to beating a non-playercharacter. As another example, the data analysis system can evaluate adifficulty or a challenge provided by the video game application 104 inresponse to a seed value. The seed value may be associated with theprobability of an in-game object appearing (or disappearing), an action(or an inaction) by a non-player character, and so forth. The seed valuemay be generated by pseudorandom number generator or other means. Thedata analysis system 136 can determine how challenging a particularlevel or portion of the video game (such as a dungeon) is in response toa particular seed value in the video game application 104. For example,the data analysis system 136 can calculate how well a group of gameagents do when the particular seed value is utilized. Advantageously, incertain embodiments, by evaluating the challenge provided by aparticular seed value, the difficulty level of the video gameapplication can be refined by adding or removing the seed value to a setof available seed values for a particular difficulty level. For example,if it is determined that a seed value causes the game agents to fail atan 80% rate, the seed value may be associated with a harder level thananother seed value that causes users to fail at a 20% rate.

In some embodiments, the data analysis system 136 can also be configuredto measure whether the game difficulty meets a certain expectation. Thedata analysis system 136 can compare the overall game difficulty or thedifficulty of a level with a threshold condition. For example, thethreshold condition may be based on a target progression rate. If themeasured progression rate is lower than the targeted progression rate.The data analysis system 136 may determine that the current difficultylevel does not meet the expectation. The data analysis system 136 cancommunicate the conclusion or the analysis to the reporting system 138for presentation to the game development computing system 150.

iii. Reporting System

In some embodiments, the reporting system 138 can obtain the result ofthe analysis from the data analysis system 136 or access the result ofthe analysis from the data store 124. The reporting system 138 cangenerate a report and communicate the report to the game developmentcomputing system 150. The report may include the game metrics computedby the data analysis system 136 and a recommendation for updating thegame's operation. The report may be presented in any format, such as adescription, a figure, a video, an audio, and so on. For example, if thewin ratio indicates that most game agents will pass a level, the reportmay include a recommendation for increasing the game's difficulty, forexample, by adjusting the probability of obtaining a game item.

The reporting system 138 may include a data visualization system 132.The data visualization system 132 can generate a user interface for auser (such as game developer) to view data analyses associated with thevideo game application 104. The user interface may include analysis ofthe telemetry data and a filtering tool. The filtering tool may beconfigured to receive user input and filter data based on the user inputor for the user to review only a portion of the result. For example, thefiltering tool may allow a user to select the game difficulty metricsdata for a specific level in the video game. The user interface may berendered through a web interface (such as a webpage), and/or on anapplication locally installed on a computing device.

In some embodiments, a portion of the data visualization system 132 maybe part of the interactive computing system 120, while another portionof the data visualization system 132 may be part of the game developmentcomputing system 150. For example, the portion that resides in theinteractive computing system 120 may be configured to generate userinterface data and communicate the user interface data to the datavisualization system 132 at the game development computing system 150.The data visualization system 132 at the game developing computingsystem 150 can accordingly display the user interface data. In otherembodiments, the game development computing system 150 and the gamemetric analysis system 130 may be part of the system. Therefore, thedata visualization system 132 can directly present the result of thedata analysis system 136 without needing to communicate the userinterface data via a network.

C. Game Development Computing System

The game development computing system 150 can be implemented by acomputing device 10 as described with reference to FIG. 8. The gamecomputing system 150 can comprise a data visualization system 132 and agame update system 142. The game development computing system 150 cancommunicate with the computing system 102 and/or the interactivecomputing system 120 via the network 180. In some embodiments, the gamedevelopment computing system 150 may be a part of the computing system102 or the interactive computing system 120.

1. Data Visualization System

The data visualization system 132 of the game development computingsystem 150 can include a user interface. As described with reference toFIGS. 5A and 5B, the user interface can display one or more gamemetrics. The game metrics may be shown in various formats such astables, word descriptions, graphs, or the like.

The data visualization system 132 may be implemented in a variety ofways such as, for example, a website, a mobile page, a plug-in to anapplication (such as, for example, a game development application, agame application, or a host application), and so on. The datavisualization system 132 may be part of the data visualization system132 of the game metric analysis system 130. In some embodiments, thegame development computing system 150 may be part of the interactivecomputing system 120. The data visualization system may reside in thegame development computing system 150 and/or the game metric analysissystem 130.

2. Game Update System

The game update system 142 may be configured to automatically update theoperation of the game based on the measured game difficulty metrics. Forexample, the game update system 142 can compare the measured gamedifficulty metrics of a level with a threshold condition and if the gamedifficulty of the level as determined from the game difficulty metricspasses the threshold condition (such as by being too easy or toodifficult). The game update system 142 can automatically adjust one ormore aspects of the video game application 104 to thereby adjust thegame difficulty metrics of the video game application 104. As anexample, if a level is too difficult, the game update system 142 canupdate a seed associated with a rare item in the video game to increasethe probability of obtaining the item, which can reduce the gamedifficulty of that level.

Although the game update system 142 is shown to be part of the gamedevelopment computing system 150, the game update system 142 may also bepart of the computing system 102 or part of the interactive computingsystem 120. In some embodiments, the game update system may includeanother data store and a rules engine (not shown in FIG. 1). The rulesengine may be configured to compare the game difficulty metrics with thethreshold condition or the rules.

II. Examples Processes for Automatically Measuring Game DifficultyMetrics

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of an example process for automaticallymeasuring difficulty metrics of a video game. At (1) of the process 200,a game agent system 108 can execute within the video game application104 and simulate gameplay of the video game application 104. Forexample, a game agent of the game agent system 108 may be configured tomake a move at different decision points of the video game application104.

At (2), the telemetry data acquisition system 134 can acquire telemetrydata of the video game application 104 as the game agent system 108 isplaying the video game application 104. The telemetry data may includethe results of the game agent's action as well as intermediary data suchas game state transition information and the game agent's actions foreach state in the video game.

At (3), the data analysis system 136 can receive the telemetry dataacquired by the telemetry data acquisition system 134. The data analysissystem 136 can retrieve the telemetry data from a data store or inreal-time as the telemetry data acquisition system 134 records thegameplay of the game agent system 108. The data analysis system 136 canperform game difficulty metrics computation based on the telemetry data.For example, the data analysis system 136 can calculate one or more gamemetrics using the telemetry data from multiple game agents and/or overmultiple game play sessions. The game metrics can further be used todetermine the difficulty of a game level, a game, or a game state, aloneor in combination. For example, the values of a game metric may beevaluated against one or more threshold conditions or rules fordetermining the game difficulty metrics.

At (4), the reporting system generates a report based on the resultsreceived from the data analysis system 136. For example, the reportingsystem can compile the measured difficulty metrics for several levelsand generate a graph showing the relative difficulty metrics for eachlevel. As another example, the report may show whether the measureddifficulty of a level meets a threshold condition.

At (5), the reporting system communicates the report to the game updatesystem 142. The game update system 142 can automatically adjust one ormore aspects of the video game's operation. For example, the game updatesystem 142 can adjust the value of a seed in the video game based on oneor more rules. The seed may be associated with a probability of an itemor character showing or performing a certain action. The game updatesystem 142 can also automatically remove or add one or more in-game itemor character based on the report based on other rules. In someembodiments, a game developer may perform such adjustment through thegame update system 142.

III. Examples of Game Agents and State Transition Information

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of state transitions in a video game.In the example diagram 300, there may be four states in a video game:state A 310, state B 320, state C 330, and state D 340. Each state mayinclude its corresponding state transition information. For example, thestate transition information A 314 corresponds to the state A 310; thestate transition information B 324 corresponds to the state B 320; thestate transition information C 334 corresponds to the state C 330; andthe state transition information D 344 corresponds to the state D 340.As described with reference to FIG. 1, state transition information mayinclude state representation information associated with a game playeror objects in that state, such as the objects available at a givenstate, player's current location, and so on. The state transitioninformation may also include moves or decisions available at a givenstate.

After a game agent makes a move or decision, the state of the video gamemay be transitioned from one state to the next based on the move ordecision. For example, state A may be the initial state of a video game.At state A 310, when a game agent chooses the decision AB, the state ofthe video game is transitioned from the state A 310 to the state B 320.However, if the game agent chooses the decision AC, then the state ofthe video game is transitioned to the state C 330 (rather than state B320).

At state B 320, the game agent can choose between decision BD anddecision BA. If the game agent chooses the decision BD, the state of thegame is transitioned to state D 340. If the game agent chooses decisionBA, the state of the game is transitioned back to state A 310.

At state C 330, the game agent has three available options: decision CB,decision CD, and decision CA. The decision CB will cause the video gameto transition back to state B 320; the decision CD will cause the videogame to transition to state D 340; and the decision CA will cause thevideo game to transition to state A 310.

At state D 340, the game agent does not have a choice. Decision DA isthe only available option. The decision DA causes the state totransition from the state D 340 to the state A 310.

Different types of game agents may make different decisions at eachstate. For example, a random agent may be configured to make a randommove or decision at a given state. For example, at state C 330, therandom agent may randomly pick among decisions CA, CD, and CB. In someembodiments, each decision may be associated with a weighted value thatdetermines the probability that the agent will select a specific action.For example, the random agent may have 50% probability of pickingdecision CB, 30% probability of picking decision CD, and 20% probabilityof picking decision CA.

A static agent can make a move or decision based on a predefined path.For example, at state C 330, the static agent may always pick decisionCA at state A 310 and the static agent always picks decision AB. Asanother example, the static agent may always pick the move that givesthe maximum return at the current state, regardless of whether the longterm return is maximized.

A learning agent may not have a deterministic set of rules that governthe agent at every operating state. Rather, the learning agent can adaptits strategies based on the current state of the video game as well asbased on the information obtained in the previous states or attempts.For example, at state C 330, the learning agent may initially choosedecision CD. However, by choosing decision CD, the learning agent mayrealize that the only option it has at state D 340 is the decision DAwhich may not be desirable. As a result, at the next try, the learningagent may choose decision CB instead.

In some embodiments, a game agent may be a mixed type. For example, thegame agent may be a combination of a random agent and a static agent. Asanother example, the game agent may be a combination of a learning agentand a random agent. As a result, the game agent may make a randomdecision based on the previous information.

As described with reference to FIG. 1, the telemetry data acquisitionsystem 134 can acquire the state transition information as well as theresult of the agent's action. For example, if a game agent moves fromstate A 310 to state C 330 and back to state A 310, the telemetry dataacquisition may record the total rewards collected from such moves, thesequence of the moves, as well as objects encountered or collected ateach state of the sequence, among other data.

IV. Example Methods for Automatically Measuring a Game Difficulty

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of example flowchart for automaticallymeasuring difficulty metrics in a video game. The flowchart 400 in FIG.4 may be performed by the computing system 102, alone or in combinationwith the interactive computing system 120 or the game developmentcomputing system 150. For example, the computing system 102 may includethe game metric analysis system 130, the game agents, and the gameapplication.

At block 410, a computing system can simulate gameplay of a video gameapplication with game agents. The video game application may be thevideo game application 104 described in the embodiments shown in FIG. 1,and the game agents may be one or more game agent(s) in a game agentsystem 108 described in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The gameagents may have different types. For example, some game agents (such asrandom agents or static agents) can perform a randomly chosen action orperform a predefined action. Other game agents (such as learning agents)can dynamically change their behaviors based on the availableinformation of a game state and previously acquired information. Thegame agents may be divided into different groups based on their typesand characteristics. For example, the game agents having the same AIlevels may be executed and analyzed together.

At block 420, the computing system can acquire telemetry data of thegameplay while the game agents are playing or after they play the videogame application. The telemetry data may include the result of the gameagent's action as well as the intermediary data such as game statetransition information. The telemetry data may be used by a dataanalysis system for recreating the game states and analyzing the videogame application.

At block 430, the computing system can automatically calculate gamedifficulty metrics using telemetry data acquired as the game agents areplaying the game application. The game difficulty metrics may beassociated with measuring the difficulty of a game, a level in the game,or a state in the game. Where multiple groups of game agents are used,the game metrics may be calculated separately for one or more groups.The statistics of the game difficulty metrics may be compared to avariety of threshold conditions for classifying aspects of the videogame application into different levels of difficulties (for example,medium, easy, hard, and the like.).

At block 440, the computing system can output the game difficultymetrics associated with the gameplay. For example, the computing systemcan generate a report which can include the game difficulty metrics andtheir associated statistics. For example, the game difficulty metricscalculated by the computing system may include relative speed ofprogression among the game agents.

At block 450, the computing system can optionally output arecommendation for adjusting the video game application's operation forexample, based on rules applied by a rules engine. For example, if therelative speed of progression indicates that a vast majority of gameagents take too long to complete the game, the report generated by thecomputing system may include a suggestion for reducing the difficulty ofcertain levels. For example, the report may include suggested changesfor one or more seed values associated with certain aspects of the videogame. For example, the suggested changes may include increasing ordecreasing the seed values of a rare object appearing at a certainlocation in the game environment. In some embodiment, the computingsystem may automatically update the video game's operation based on therecommendation. For example, the computing system can adjust the seedvalue based on the suggestions in the report. In some embodiments, thereport may be presented to a game developer via a data visualizationsystem. The game developer can accordingly adjust the game's difficultybased on the report.

V. Example User Interfaces of a Data Visualization System

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate embodiments of example user interfaces for adata visualization system, such as the data visualization system 132shown in FIG. 1. The user interfaces may be generated and presented bythe game development computing system 150 and/or the game metricanalysis system 130 described in FIG. 1.

The user interface 500 a in FIG. 5A illustrates embodiments of graphsfor the game difficulty metrics of levels in the video game. The videogame associated with the FIGS. 5A and 5B may be a turn-based game havingmultiple levels. The game difficulty metrics may include data andanalysis of one or more game metrics and statistics associated with thegame metrics. The graph 502 a presents the analysis related to two gamemetrics. One is the average trials to win while another is the totalnumber of attempts by all agents. These two game metrics are plottedagainst multiple levels in the video game. The graph 502 a illustratesseveral peaks for the average trials to win. For example, the peaks arearound the levels A, B, C, and D. Because these levels take asignificant amount of trials to pass, there may be a significantdecrease in the number of game agents remaining after the level D.

The data associated with the graph 502 a may be acquired using learningagents. Accordingly, although there is a significant drop in the totalnumber of attempts in the very beginning, some learning agents may beable to learn from the mistakes in the early game and apply the learninginto the later levels. As a result, the amount of fluctuations for thetotal number of attempts between level A and level D may not be verysignificant.

FIG. 5B illustrates embodiments of example graphs 510 b, 520 b, 530 b,and 540 b where each graph presents a detailed analysis of game metricsof a level in the video game. For example, the graph 510 b representsthe difficulty of level A; the graph 520 b represents the difficulty oflevel B; the graph 530 b represents the difficulty of level C; and thegraph 540 b represents the difficulty of level D. Similar to FIG. 5A,these example graphs also measure two game metrics: the average trialsto win and the total number of attempts by all agents. These two gamemetrics are measured against the random seeds in each level. Each seedis represented by the seed identifiers in these graphs. The random seedshown in FIG. 5B can determine the initial condition of each board whichin turn impact the difficulty. These seeds can be changed to alter thedifficulty of a level.

For example, in level A, the curve representing the total number ofattempts is relative flat but gradually increases towards the rightside. However, the curve for average trials to win shows an inverserelationship as compared to the total number of attempts. This may showthat the seeds on the right side of the curve may be encountered morefrequently than the seeds on the left side of the curve. In addition,the seeds on the right side may be easier to pass than the seeds on theleft side of the curve. The graph 540 b also shows similar relationshipbetween the average trial to win and the total number of attempts.However, the scale of the total number of attempts in graph 540 b may besmaller than that in graph 510 b. This may suggest that level B isrelatively easier than the level A.

As another example, the graph 520 b, suggests that level B is an easylevel which the designers will take into account for rearranging thelevels and adjusting the player journey.

As yet another example, level C may be the most difficult level inlevels A-D. As shown in the graph 530 b, the average number of trials towin is highest. However, the seeds on the right end may be relativelyeasier comparing to other seeds in the same level. For example, thereare relatively fewer attempts at these two seeds and the average numberof trials to win is relatively small compared to other seeds in the samelevel.

VI. Examples of Interacting with a Video Game Application Using a GameAgent System

FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment of a computing environment forinterfacing a game agent system with a video game application. Theexample computing environment 600 includes a core game 640, a gameinterface 650, a driver 680, and an agent log 690. The core game 640 andthe game interface 650 may be part of the video game application 104.For example, core game 640 may include logics that control the videogame application's 104 operation. The game interface 650 may be an APIwhich the driver 680 may use to interface with the core game 640. Thedriver 680 may be part of the game agent system 108. For example, thedriver 680 may include logics for controlling a game agent's operation.The agent log 690 may record the operations of the game agent during agame play. For example, the agent log 690 may include telemetry dataacquired while the game agent is executing. In some embodiments, theagent log 690 may be part of the data store 126 (or the data store 124).

In this example, the core game 640 includes a physics module 642, ananimation module 644, a locomotion module 646, and a render module 646.In other examples, more or fewer modules may be included in the coregame 640. The physics module 642 may be configured to simulate themovements of game objects over time (such as for example, simulating afree fall motion), detect when objects collide with one another, anddetermine appropriate response in the event of a collision. Theanimation module 644 is used to provide animation of an in-gamecharacter. For example, the animation module 644 can includeinstructions to move the arms and legs of a game avatar in a way similarto a human's natural walking behavior. The locomotion module 646 may beused to simulate a player's climbing, jumping, or other types ofmotions. The render module 648 may be configured to render graphics suchas visual effects, movements, and so on, of a video game application.

The driver 680 can include tuples module 682. The tuples module candetermine (or access) state information of a given state such as forexample, new states available, valid actions at the given state, as wellas rewards available. The driver 680 a learning module 684 (such as whenthe game agent is a learning agent). The learning module 684 can adaptthe game agent's movements at a given state based on informationacquired in the previous states or in the prior gameplay sessions. Theconfigurations/data module 686 can include agent's characteristics, suchas for example, the agent's persona, and/or data used by the learningagent to adapt. The decision making module 688 can be configured tocalculate an agent's move associated with a state. The decision makingmodule 688 may calculate the agent's move based on information in othermodules such as for example, the tuples module 682, the learning module684, and the configuration/data module 686.

In the example computing environment 600, the video game application caninclude a query system for looking up the state information (includingthe current state, all valid actions at the current state, and newstate). For example, the core game 640 can communicate a query of stateinformation via the game interface 650 to the driver 680. The tuplesmodule 682 of the driver 680 can parse the query information andidentify information associated with the current state (such as, forexample, the new states available, valid actions at the current state,and the rewards associated with the actions). The information associatedwith the current state may be used by the learning module 684 to adaptthe probability of the game agent picking an action. The game agent canfurther determine whether to pick an action based on the configurationsof the game agent. Using the information associated with the currentstatement, information learned (using the learning module 684), and theconfigurations of the game agent, the decision making module 688 canselect an action of the game agent for the current state. This actionmay be communicated back to the core game 640 via the game interface650.

The agent log 690 can record the game agent's decision making process.for example, it can record the calculations performed and data generatedby the tuples module 682, the learning module 684, theconfigurations/data module 686, and the decision making module 688.Advantageously, in some embodiments, by recording the game agent'sdecision making process, the game metric analysis system 130 can computegame difficulty metrics more accurately than the using data acquired bythe game players during the beta phrase of the video game because thedecision making process of the game players may not be recorded by thecomputing system 102.

FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of a process for interacting with avideo game application using a game agent system. The video gameillustrated in FIG. 7 may be a turn-based game such as a match-3 game.The process 700 a illustrates an example process for a game agent whensimulating the game play. The process 700 a includes subprocesses 710 a,720 a, and 730 a. The process 700 b shows screens of the gameplay whilethe game agent is performing the process 700 a. The process 700 bincludes subprocesses 710 b, 720 b, and 730 b. The examples in FIG. 7may be illustrated by the computing system 102 or one or more of itscomponents such as for example the game agent system 108, video gameapplication 104, and so on.

Subprocess 710 a and its corresponding subprocess 710 b illustrate anexample process for board segmentation where the game agent may analyzethe location of the board and color variations associated with theboard. The subprocess 720 a and its corresponding subprocess 720 billustrates an example process for item identification, where the gameagent can identify specific items on the board. The subprocess 730 a andits corresponding subprocess 730 b illustrates a drive action where thegame agent can make a decision and execute a move in accordance with thedecision.

At block 714 a of the subprocess 710 a, a game agent can determinewhether a board has fixed cell size. If the cell size is fixed, thesubprocess 710 a proceeds to block 718 a. If the cell size is not fixed,the game agent can analyze the layout of the game play screen byemploying color variance and Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) techniques atblock 716 a. At block 718 a, the game agent can get the location of thegame board (for example, as shown on the screen) and the cell size.

The screen 712 b in the subprocess 710 b illustrates a gameplay screen.The subprocess 710 b can check the background of the gameplay screen andremoving the background (as shown in the screen 714 b. The subprocess710 b can get color variance based on the screen 714 b. The colorvariance may be used to generate a color plot as shown in the screen 716b. The color plot 716 b may include the amount of red/blue/green colorsat a given location of the screen. The color variance may be usedtogether with the FFT to determine the game board location and cell sizeat block 718 b.

In the subprocess 720 a, the game agent can load an item dictionary atblock 722 a. The item dictionary can include a collection of all itemson the board. The item may be associated with its identifyinginformation such as the name of the item, the color of the item, andoptionally the rewards associated with the item. At block 724 a, thegame agent can identify the cells, for example, based on the itemdictionary. At block 728 a, the game agent can determine whether thereis still a new cell that has not been added to the item dictionary. If anew cell is present, at block 726 b, the game agent can improve the itemdictionary for example by adding the new cell into the item dictionaryand proceed to block 724 a. If the new cell is not present, the gameagent proceeds to the block 734 a. The game agent can keep performingblocks 724 a, 726 a, and 728 a, until all items have been identified onthe board.

The screen 721 b of the subprocess 720 b shows a portion of the videogameplay screen. In the screen 721 b, 5 cells are shown. The cells onthe screen 721 b can be cropped as shown in the screen 723 b where eachof the 5 cells is separated from the other cells. The game agent canremove the background for a cell to identify the item in the cell. Forexample. as shown in screen 724 b, a heart item is identified. The gameagent can look up the identified item (e.g. the heart) in the itemdictionary. The game agent can also add the identified item to the itemdictionary if the identified item is not in the item dictionary. Asshown in the screen 724 b, the items of the screen 721 b may beidentified as pink heart, green ball, pink heart, orange triangle, andpink heart.

In the subprocess 730 a, the game agent can make a decision at block734. The decision may be based on the game agent's characteristics aswell as items present on the board. At block 736 a, the game agent'smove may be executed. For example, the game agent may communicate thedecision to the video game application so that the video gameapplication can play the game agent's move. At block 738 a, the gameagent can determine whether the game has ended. If the game has notended, the process 700 a proceeds to block 724 a where the game agentcan perform the item identification subprocess 720 a based on the newstate caused by the agent's move at block 736 a. If the game has ended,at block 740, process 700 a may proceed to the block 740 which may causethe gameplay to be restarted.

In the subprocess 730 b, the screen 732 b show the current state of theboard. The game agent can find the available moves in the current state.For example, as shown in block 734 b, the game agent may communicatewith a data store which includes all valid moves for a given state. Thegame agent can make a decision based on the information associated withthe current state of the board. At block 736 b the game agent's move isexecuted causing the video game application to be transitioned to a newstate.

VII. Overview of Computing Device

FIG. 8 illustrates an embodiment of computing device 10 according to thepresent disclosure. Other variations of the computing device 10 may besubstituted for the examples explicitly presented herein, such asremoving or adding components to the computing device 10. The computingdevice 10 may include a game device, a smart phone, a tablet, a personalcomputer, a laptop, a smart television, a car console display, a server,and the like. The computing device 10 may also be distributed acrossmultiple geographical locations. For example, the computing device 10may be a cluster of cloud-based servers.

As shown, the computing device 10 includes a processing unit 20 thatinteracts with other components of the computing device 10 and alsoexternal components to computing device 10. A game media reader 22 isincluded that communicates with game media 12. The game media reader 22may be an optical disc reader capable of reading optical discs, such asCD-ROMs or DVDs, or any other type of reader that can receive and readdata from game media 12. One or more of the computing devices may beused to implement one or more of the systems disclosed herein.

Computing device 10 may include a separate graphics processor 24. Insome cases, the graphics processor 24 may be built into the processingunit 20. In some such cases, the graphics processor 24 may share RandomAccess Memory (RAM) with the processing unit 20. Alternatively oradditionally, the computing device 10 may include a discrete graphicsprocessor 24 that is separate from the processing unit 20. In some suchcases, the graphics processor 24 may have separate RAM from theprocessing unit 20. Computing device 10 might be a handheld gameapplication device, a dedicated game console computing system, ageneral-purpose laptop or desktop computer, a smart phone, a tablet, acar console, or other suitable system.

Computing device 10 also includes various components for enablinginput/output, such as an I/O 32, a user I/O 34, a display I/O 36, and anetwork I/O 38. I/O 32 interacts with storage element 40 and, through adevice 42, removable storage media 44 in order to provide storage forcomputing device 10. Processing unit 20 can communicate through I/O 32to store data, such as game state data and any shared data files. Inaddition to storage 40 and removable storage media 44, computing device10 is also shown including ROM (Read-Only Memory) 46 and RAM 48. RAM 48may be used for data that is accessed frequently, such as when a videogame is being played.

User I/O 34 is used to send and receive commands between processing unit20 and user devices, such as game controllers. In some embodiments, theuser I/O 34 can include a touchscreen input. The touchscreen can becapacitive touchscreen, a resistive touchscreen, or other type oftouchscreen technology that is configured to receive user input throughtactile inputs from the player. Display I/O 36 provides input/outputfunctions that are used to display images from the game being played.Network I/O 38 is used for input/output functions for a network. NetworkI/O 38 may be used during execution of a game, such as when a game isbeing played online or being accessed online, application of frauddetection, and/or generation of a fraud detection model.

Display output signals produced by display I/O 36 comprise signals fordisplaying visual content produced by computing device 10 on a displaydevice, such as graphics, user interfaces, video, and/or other visualcontent. Computing device 10 may comprise one or more integrateddisplays configured to receive display output signals produced bydisplay I/O 36. According to some embodiments, display output signalsproduced by display I/O 36 may also be output to one or more displaydevices external to computing device 10.

The computing device 10 can also include other features that may be usedwith a video game, such as a clock 50, flash memory 52, and othercomponents. An audio/video player 56 might also be used to play a videosequence, such as a movie. It should be understood that other componentsmay be provided in computing device 10 and that a person skilled in theart will appreciate other variations of computing device 10.

Program code can be stored in ROM 46, RAM 48 or storage 40 (which mightcomprise a hard disk, other magnetic storage, optical storage, othernon-volatile storage or a combination or variation of these). Part ofthe program code can be stored in ROM that is programmable (ROM, PROM,EPROM, EEPROM, and so forth), and part of the program code can be storedin storage 40, and/or on removable media such as game media 12 (whichcan be a CD-ROM, cartridge, memory chip or the like, or obtained over anetwork or other electronic channel as needed). In general, program codecan be found embodied in a tangible non-transitory signal-bearingmedium.

Random access memory (RAM) 48 (and possibly other storage) is usable tostore variables and other game and processor data as needed. RAM 48 isused and holds data that is generated during the execution of anapplication and portions thereof might also be reserved for framebuffers, application state information, and/or other data needed orusable for interpreting user input and generating display outputs.Generally, RAM 48 is volatile storage and data stored within RAM 48 maybe lost when the computing device 10 is turned off or loses power.

As computing device 10 reads game media 12 and provides an application,information may be read from game media 12 and stored in a memorydevice, such as RAM 48. Additionally, data from storage 40, ROM 46,servers accessed via a network (not shown), or removable storage media44 may be read and loaded into RAM 48. Although data is described asbeing found in RAM 48, it will be understood that data does not have tobe stored in RAM 48 and may be stored in other memory accessible toprocessing unit 20 or distributed among several media, such as gamemedia 12 and storage 40.

It is to be understood that not necessarily all objects or advantagesmay be achieved in accordance with any particular embodiment describedherein. Thus, for example, those skilled in the art will recognize thatcertain embodiments may be configured to operate in a manner thatachieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taughtherein without necessarily achieving other objects or advantages as maybe taught or suggested herein.

All of the processes described herein may be embodied in, and fullyautomated, via software code modules executed by a computing system thatincludes one or more computers or processors. The code modules may bestored in any type of non-transitory computer-readable medium or othercomputer storage device. Some or all the methods may be embodied inspecialized computer hardware.

Many other variations than those described herein will be apparent fromthis disclosure. For example, depending on the embodiment, certain acts,events, or functions of any of the algorithms described herein can beperformed in a different sequence or can be added, merged, or left outaltogether (for example, not all described acts or events are necessaryfor the practice of the algorithms). Moreover, in certain embodiments,acts or events can be performed concurrently, for example, throughmulti-threaded processing, interrupt processing, or multiple processorsor processor cores or on other parallel architectures, rather thansequentially. In addition, different tasks or processes can be performedby different machines and/or computing systems that can functiontogether.

The various illustrative logical blocks and modules described inconnection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented orperformed by a machine, such as a processing unit or processor, adigital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integratedcircuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or otherprogrammable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discretehardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform thefunctions described herein. A processor can be a microprocessor, but inthe alternative, the processor can be a controller, microcontroller, orstate machine, combinations of the same, or the like. A processor caninclude electrical circuitry configured to process computer-executableinstructions. In another embodiment, a processor includes an FPGA orother programmable device that performs logic operations withoutprocessing computer-executable instructions. A processor can also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, acombination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality ofmicroprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSPcore, or any other such configuration. Although described hereinprimarily with respect to digital technology, a processor may alsoinclude primarily analog components. For example, some or all of thesignal processing algorithms described herein may be implemented inanalog circuitry or mixed analog and digital circuitry. A computingenvironment can include any type of computer system, including, but notlimited to, a computer system based on a microprocessor, a mainframecomputer, a digital signal processor, a portable computing device, adevice controller, or a computational engine within an appliance, toname a few.

Conditional language such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might” or“may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, are understood within thecontext as used in general to convey that certain embodiments include,while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elementsand/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intendedto imply that features, elements and/or steps are in any way requiredfor one or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarilyinclude logic for deciding, with or without user input or prompting,whether these features, elements and/or steps are included or are to beperformed in any particular embodiment.

Disjunctive language such as the phrase “at least one of X, Y, or Z,”unless specifically stated otherwise, is understood with the context asused in general to present that an item, term, etc., may be either X, Y,or Z, or any combination thereof (for example, X, Y, and/or Z). Thus,such disjunctive language is not generally intended to, and should not,imply that certain embodiments require at least one of X, at least oneof Y, or at least one of Z to each be present.

Any process descriptions, elements or blocks in the flow diagramsdescribed herein and/or depicted in the attached figures should beunderstood as potentially representing modules, segments, or portions ofcode which include one or more executable instructions for implementingspecific logical functions or elements in the process. Alternateimplementations are included within the scope of the embodimentsdescribed herein in which elements or functions may be deleted, executedout of order from that shown, or discussed, including substantiallyconcurrently or in reverse order, depending on the functionalityinvolved as would be understood by those skilled in the art.

Unless otherwise explicitly stated, articles such as “a” or “an” shouldgenerally be interpreted to include one or more described items.Accordingly, phrases such as “a device configured to” are intended toinclude one or more recited devices. Such one or more recited devicescan also be collectively configured to carry out the stated recitations.For example, “a processor configured to carry out recitations A, B andC” can include a first processor configured to carry out recitation Aworking in conjunction with a second processor configured to carry outrecitations B and C.

It should be emphasized that many variations and modifications may bemade to the above-described embodiments, the elements of which are to beunderstood as being among other acceptable examples. All suchmodifications and variations are intended to be included herein withinthe scope of this disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for automatically measuring at least onegame difficulty metric within a game application, the system comprising:a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium havingcomputer-readable instructions stored therein; and one or moreprocessors configured to execute the computer-readable instructions toperform steps comprising: simulating gameplay sessions of the gameapplication using a plurality of game agents that includes at least twoof: a random agent, a static agent, or a learning agent, wherein eachgame agent of the plurality of game agents is configured to, duringruntime of a gameplay session of the game application: identify acurrent gameplay state in a virtual game environment of the gameapplication; identify one or more available actions associated with thecurrent gameplay state; select an action of the one or more availableactions based at least in part on defined operational characteristics ofthe game agent; and execute the selected action within the virtual gameenvironment; recording telemetry data associated with the plurality ofgame agents while the plurality of game agents is executing within thegame application, the telemetry data comprising gameplay stateinformation describing actions performed by the game agents at gameplaystates during the gameplay sessions; communicating the telemetry data toa data store; accessing the telemetry data associated with the pluralityof game agents; calculating the at least one game difficulty metricassociated with each gameplay session based at least in part on thetelemetry data; generating a result based on the at least one gamedifficulty metric, wherein the result comprises a game difficultydetermination for at least a defined segment of the game application;accessing the result for the game difficulty determination; generating areport based on the result for the game difficulty determination;communicating the report to a computer for display through a displaydevice; and based at least in part on the result, modifying at least onegame parameter to change a difficulty level for the defined segment ofthe game application.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality ofgame agents comprises each of: the random agent, the static agent, andthe learning agent.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least onegame difficulty metric comprises at least one of: a progression speed, awin ratio, or a total reward collected.
 4. The system of claim 1,wherein the telemetry data further comprises: a reward or an objectiveachieved due to the execution of the selected action in the currentgameplay state.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the defined segment ofthe game application comprises at least one of a level in the gameapplication or a seed in the game application.
 6. The system of claim 5,wherein the report further comprises a recommendation for updating thedifficulty level of the game application, wherein the recommendation isgenerated in response to a determination that the result of the gamedifficulty determination fails to meet a threshold expectation.
 7. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the plurality of game agents is configured tosimulate the gameplay sessions by at least one of: interfacing with anapplication programming interface of the game application or simulatingan action of a peripheral device.
 8. A method for automaticallymeasuring at least one game difficulty metric within a game application,the method comprising: simulating gameplay sessions of the gameapplication using a plurality of game agents that includes at least twoof: a random agent, a static agent, or a learning agent, wherein eachgame agent of the plurality of game agents is configured to, duringruntime of a gameplay session of the game application: identify acurrent gameplay state in a virtual game environment of the gameapplication; identify one or more available actions associated with thecurrent gameplay state; select an action of the one more availableactions based at least in part on defined operational characteristics ofthe game agent; and execute the selected action within the virtual gameenvironment; recording telemetry data associated with the plurality ofgame agents during the gameplay sessions; accessing the telemetry dataassociated with the plurality of game agents, wherein the telemetry datacomprises gameplay state information describing actions performed by thegame agents at gameplay states during the gameplay sessions; calculatingthe at least one game difficulty metric associated with each gameplaysession based at least in part on the telemetry data; and generating aresult based on the at least one game difficulty metric, wherein theresult comprises a game difficulty determination for at least a definedsegment of the game application; generating a report based on the resultfor the game difficulty determination; communicating the report to acomputer for display through a display device; and based at least inpart on the result, modifying at least one parameter to change adifficulty level of the defined segment of the game application.
 9. Themethod of claim 8, wherein the plurality of game agents comprises eachof: the random agent, the static agent, and the learning agent.
 10. Themethod of claim 8, wherein the at least one game difficulty metriccomprises at least one of: a progression speed, a win ratio, or a totalreward collected.
 11. The method of claim 8, wherein the telemetry datafurther comprises: a reward or an objective achieved due to theexecution of the selected action in the current state.
 12. The method ofclaim 8, wherein the defined segment of the game application comprisesat least one of a level in the game application or a seed in the gameapplication.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the report furthercomprises a recommendation for updating the difficulty level of the gameapplication, wherein the recommendation is generated in response to adetermination that the result of the game difficulty determination failsto meet a threshold expectation.
 14. A non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed,direct a computer to: simulate gameplay sessions of a game applicationusing a plurality of game agents that include at least two of: a randomagent, a static agent, or a learning agent, wherein each game agent ofthe plurality of game agents is configured to, during runtime of agameplay session of the game application: identify a current gameplaystate in a virtual game environment of the game application; identifyone or more available actions associated with the current gameplaystate; select an action of the one more available actions based at leastin part on defined operational characteristics of the game agent; andexecute the selected action within the virtual game environment; recordtelemetry data associated with the plurality of game agents during thegameplay sessions; access the telemetry data associated with theplurality of game agents, wherein the telemetry data comprising gameplaystate information describing actions performed by the game agents atgameplay states during the gameplay sessions; calculate at least onegame difficulty metric associated with each gameplay session based atleast in part on the telemetry data; and generate a result based on thegame difficulty metric, wherein the result comprises a game difficultydetermination for at least a defined segment of the game application;generate a report based on the result for the game difficultydetermination; communicate the report for display through a displaydevice; and based at least in part on the result, change a difficultylevel for the defined segment of the game application.
 15. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein theplurality of game agents comprise each of: the random agent, the staticagent, and the learning agent.
 16. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium of claim 14, wherein the at least one game difficulty metriccomprises at least one of: a progression speed, a win ratio, or a totalreward collected.
 17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium ofclaim 14, wherein the telemetry data further comprises: a reward or anobjective achieved due to the execution of the selected action in thecurrent state.
 18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim14, wherein the defined segment of the game application comprises atleast one of a level in the game application or a seed in the gameapplication.
 19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim14, wherein the report further comprises a recommendation for updatingan operation of the game, wherein the recommendation is generated inresponse to a determination that the result of the game difficultydetermination fails to meet a threshold expectation.
 20. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein theplurality of game agents is configured to simulate the gameplay sessionsby at least one of: interfacing with an application programminginterface of the game application or simulating an action of aperipheral device.